Vinyl LPs are back!!! Document Records and Jack White's Third Man Records have teamed up to produce an astonishing new series of vinyl albums. Drawing material from the Document vaults, the series concentrates on the best names in vintage blues. With new sound restoration, remarkable cover artwork, extensive liner notes and detailed discographies, these albums are both a treat for fans of this amazing music and a collectors dream.

These previously unissued recordings were produced by the Edison Company between the years of 1914-1929. The repertoire includes Blues, Country, Hawaiian, Vaudeville Sketches, Popular Vocal Songs of the era, Opera / Classical, Jazz, Dance Bands of the 1920's, speeches by popular orators and political figures and the voice of Mr. Edison himself!

A rapidly increasing collection of fascinating special projects, themes and documentaries – blues, gospel, featured artists. Includes projects commissioned by Paul Oliver, Bill Wyman and Jeff Harris with many more to follow…

The BIG one. At 679 CDs and growing this is one of the biggest slices of Afro-American music history that you will find anywhere. The complete recorded works of hundreds of blues, gospel, spiritual, boogie-woogie, songster artist; from the late 1800s onwards. Many, many recordings not available elsewhere these are the roots of soul, modern gospel, R&B, rap, black urban vocal music and rock.

The original ninyl Blues Document Series preserved on CD. Includes classic recordings such as Blind Willie McTell Library of Congress session of 1940, classic post war recordings by memphis Minnie, by Jessie Thomas (brother of Ramblin' Thomas), Carolina Slim, Cripple Clarence Lofton and many more...

This ever popular series spotlights the many masters of the early Country Music genre known to many as Old Timey music. Here you will find rare, historic recordings by The Skillet Lickers, Dixon Brothers, Fiddlin’ John Carson, Sam McGee, Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts, Walter Smith and many more.

Five CDs rescued from the impressive groundbreaking Matchbox Blues Series which first made its appearance back in the 1980s. Covers the Complete pre-war recorded works of Texas Alexander, Peg Leg Howell and Eddie Anthony.

These, sampler CDs at a low budget price are a an ideal way to not only dip in and discover the delights of Document but are also a great introduction into the blues, jazz, gospel, swing and country music. No expertise required, just sit back and enjoy.

Piano Blues, the essential DOUBLE CD
This double CD is compiled of some of the most influential Piano blues artists of the pre-war era including Turner Parish, Pinetop Smith, Roosevelt Sykes, Little Brother Montgomery and many more.

More is known about Pine Top Smith than the rest of the pianists here put together, so it’s ironic there should have been so many conflicting accounts of his life and death. According to Sarah Horton whom he married in 1924 it was in Pittsburgh he first started playing Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie. Cow Cow Davenport claimed to have originated the term, “boogie woogie”, when he met Pine Top in a joint in Pittsburgh’s Sachem Alley and told him, “You sure have got a mean boogie woogie”. Davenport, acting as talent scout, recommended Pine Top to J. Mayo Williams of Brunswick/Vocalion records and Smith moved to Chicago in the summer of 1928. Possibly Williams wasn’t sure how best to present his new artist - the first unissued sessions had him accompanied by jug and kazoo and teamed in a vocal duet but his first issued sides were two impeccable watershed performances. This was the first time “boogie woogie” appeared on record and seems to be a dance or step. Certainly the limpid grace of Pine Top’s rolling bass and the suspense of the breaks makes it eminently danceable. On his quick return to the studio another six sides mainly focussed on his vaudeville repertoire - apart from the precise Jump Steady while I’m Sober Now combined both sides of his background in the serio-comic dialogue and musical mixture of Blues and “sentimental stuff”. One more recording, the unissued DRIVING WHEEL BLUES, and Pine Top was gone; a stray bullet in a dance-hall brawl ended his life just two days later, 15 March 1929. Pine Top’s seminal recordings ushered in a very brief but exciting Golden Age of Blues piano recordings of mostly new artists. Continued...